Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Kevin Okorie, and two other individuals have been held in detention by the Nigerian Navy for over 106 days without formal charges. Their detention is reportedly linked to their advocacy for the passage of the Nigerian Coast Guard Bill, which seeks to establish a coast guard agency in the country.
According to Esther, Okorie’s wife, the lawyer was lured to the Nigerian Navy’s Iwofe Aker Base on September 10 under the pretense of a meeting with two other bill supporters, Jeffrey Agogoh and Udo. Upon arrival, all three were detained.
Despite initial denials from naval officials about Okorie’s whereabouts, Esther later received a call from her husband using an officer’s phone, confirming his detention at the base. Efforts to visit him were blocked, and the Navy subsequently claimed he had been transferred to Abuja without disclosing his location.
Esther narrated her ordeal:
“He told me he was detained at the naval base, but they denied having him. When I visited the base with lawyers, they again denied his presence, only to later admit he had been moved to Abuja. My children and I are in distress. We don’t know if he is dead or alive.”
Reports suggest the detention is linked to Okorie’s support for the Coast Guard Bill, which has passed its second reading and public hearing. Esther alleged that Okorie and others had written to the federal government advocating for the bill’s implementation.
The Nigerian Navy has not officially commented on the matter. Attempts by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to locate Okorie and the other detainees at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) have also been unsuccessful.
Human rights activists and legal professionals have condemned the Navy’s actions, describing the detentions as a gross violation of fundamental rights. This incident adds to a growing list of cases highlighting the alleged misuse of power by Nigerian security agencies.
As calls for accountability mount, Okorie’s family and the legal community are demanding his immediate release and an end to arbitrary detentions.
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